This Better Not Be A Trick
by crowfeathers32
Summary: It's been almost a week since Susie disappeared. Now, Kris is asking Noelle for help. (Side story for Home Is Where The Hurt Is. I recommend reading that first.)
1. Chapter 1

Susie's desk was empty on Monday. Nobody thought anything of it - the school's broken window generated more interest, especially since it was accompanied by a small pile of dust on the flood under it. On Tuesday, talk of the window started to die down, and rumors that Susie had been expelled began to circulate. She had been on thin ice for a long time, everyone said. Late on Wednesday, the evening news reported her missing. Everyone forgot about the window after that.

It's been almost a full week now, and seeing the empty desk every day is somehow starting to feel ominous.

Noelle fidgets with her extra pencil, dragging the eraser back and forth against a blank sheet of paper. She had started with the intention of making a list of places to search for Susie, but now that she stops to think about it, she doesn't know anything about Susie, let alone where she might be.

She should be paying attention to the lesson, but as Ms. Alyphs stutters her way through an explanation of what makes human souls different from monster souls, she finds herself entirely disinterested. Susie is out there somewhere, probably desperately in need of help, and yet here they are, sitting on their butts instead of looking for her.

"Noelle?" Alyphs' voice cuts through the mental fog, making her jump in her desk a little.

"Y-yes, Ms. Alyphs?" She's probably blushing. Her face feels hot. She's not trying to zone out.

"U-um, p-please try and f-focus, okay?"

The other students are staring at her. Most of them are probably just interested to see what could cause Alyphs to actually tell someone to pay attention. A few faces look pitying.

Kris' face is blank. Earlier today, they had stopped her before class and said they wanted to talk to her after school. "It's about Susie," they had said. Just hearing Susie's name had made her heart somehow leap and sink like a stone at the same time. Hopefully it's not a trick. This really isn't the time for pranks.

"N-Noelle?" Alyphs' voice once again tears her mind back to reality.

"Um, sorry." A few students snicker, and Noelle hastily lifts her open book, propping it up in front of her face as a makeshift shield.

Kris is waiting for her at the door when the last bell rings. She starts to ask them what exactly they want to talk to her about, but they shush her and shake their head. Motioning her to follow, Kris leads her out of the school. Instead of going the usual way, they take a sharp turn down the route Susie usually takes to the outskirts of town. Reluctantly, Noelle follows.

Now that they're out of the other students' earshot, Noelle speaks up. "This isn't a trick, is it, Kris? Like, you're not gonna take me out to the woods and do something mean, right?"

She's not fond of their tricks even when things are going well. But Susie is gone, and things are definitely not going well. Surely Kris isn't cruel enough to play a prank on her now?

Though, if it's a prank and Susie is somehow in on it, she won't be able to complain too much.

"No," Kris answers flatly. "We're gonna get Susie's phone." They say this as if it's obvious.

She wrinkles her nose in confusion. "How do you know she didn't take it with her? And why does it matter? We need to be looking for her, not her phone."

"Susie is fine. She asked me if I had her cellphone when I went to visit her." They keep marching forward, confident.

Noelle stops dead, lips curling into a tight frown. "Kris, you're being really mean. This isn't funny. Susie is in trouble, and you're trying to waste time by playing pranks on me instead of helping everyone look for her!"

Kris keeps walking. "Susie is fine."

"How do you know that? Where is she?" Reluctantly, she starts chasing after them again.

Even if the chances are slim, Kris might be telling the truth for once. Noelle can't help but think back to the human children's story about a boy crying wolf. Kris lies a lot, but if this is the one time they aren't and she ignores them...

"Even if she wasn't in a safe place right now, which she is, she's tough. You don't have to believe me, but at least help me get her phone."

That doesn't answer any of her questions.

"Okay. I guess getting her phone couldn't hurt." If anything, it might be helpful to have. "But why do you need my help?" It only takes one person to deliver a missing item, right?

"I need a distraction."

Her flesh prickles, but she keeps following Kris anyway.

If Noelle didn't have fur, she would be sweating right now. Kris had mentioned a distraction, but they hadn't elaborated. Now, standing at the door of the old, rickety trailer that Susie supposedly lives in, she's starting to regret agreeing to help Kris instead of looking for Susie herself. Just getting to the door had been an ordeal; the yard is littered with empty and broken beer bottles, creating a glass minefield. Getting broken glass out of her hooves would not make for a pleasant evening. This is really starting to feel like a prank.

Kris is lurking around here somewhere, waiting for their chance to climb in the back window once the coast is clear. Or so they say. They've probably ran away already.

Hesitantly, she raises a not quite but almost trembling hand to knock. She really, really doesn't want to do this. Talking to new people and causing distractions aren't exactly her forte. But if it's for Susie, she supposes now is not the time to be shy. Bracing herself, she knocks twice.

She waits for at least a full minute with no response, so she knocks again. She's rewarded with a gruff, muffled voice from the other side.

The door swings open, revealing Susie's father. Come to think of it, she's never met him before. If Susie is intimidating, her father is outright terrifying. He's taller and bigger than Susie, mouth pulled into a harsh frown (better than seeing fangs, really). The only article of clothing he's bothered to wear is an old, ratty looking pair of grey sweatpants that are definitely at least one size too small. The stench of booze and tobacco that radiates off of him is nearly overpowering.

He glares down at her, narrowed yellow eyes signalling danger. "What do you want?" His voice is even harsher than his frown. He grunts, raising a hand to take a long swig from the beer bottle that Noelle hadn't noticed he was holding.

She's never been this upset with Kris until this very moment. Why couldn't they have given her a heads up? She lets out an involuntary squeak and a tense moment passes before she can compose herself.

"I-I was just wondering if, um, maybe-"

"Holy shit, kid. Cut to the fucking chase already." His bottle seems to be empty now, and he lazily lifts his arm before throwing it over her head, barely missing her antlers.

Noelle is stunned for a brief second but recovers relatively quickly. "F-fundraising! I'm doing fundraising for the school dance la-"

He slams the door hard enough to send a rush of air rippling across her fur.

"Pass," he grunts from the other side.

This isn't good. Kris almost definitely hasn't had enough time to find the phone and get out. Panicking, she knocks on the door again.

"Sir! It would really mean a lot-"

"Piss off, kid. Fuck."

Oh, this is really not good. Hopefully Kris has left by now. If not, they're both about to be sorry. Unless it's a prank, in which case she's already sorry.

Why didn't they come up with a signal?

Just as she turns around, she hears Kris' voice, flat as ever.

"Got it, let's go. Didn't have time to shut the window."

That was awfully quick, but she can't complain. Noelle doesn't quite run from the property, but she doesn't waste any time in leaving.

After hastily exiting Susie's yard, Noelle and Kris have slowed to a more comfortable walk. The two don't talk; Kris because they're naturally quiet and Noelle from lack of breath. If it was anyone but Kris, the silence would be comfortable.

"This needs to be charged," Kris says suddenly and stiffly, turning the phone over in their hands.

Something about Kris is off today - more than usual. Actually, ever since they had skipped class that one day with Susie something had been off about both of them. Something must have happened. It would be a lie to try to tell herself that she isn't a little jealous. Kris has always been strange, but they don't even seem to care that one of their classmates has straight up vanished. They haven't even went out and looked for her.

Actually, why does Kris know where Susie lives?

Instead of asking this out loud, she says, "I wonder why Susie left it behind."

"I think her dad took it away for skipping school so much. It was in his bedroom." Kris' voice is stilted as ever.

Noelle frowns, thinking back to the rundown trailer and yard full of broken beer bottles. "I suppose that makes sense."

"She's a lot happier where she is now. I don't think she's coming back for a while."

Noelle's fur stands up on end. That's a creepy thing to say, even for them.

"That's…" She trails off, unable to find words.

"I can take you to see her tomorrow, if you want."

This has to be a prank. Still, Noelle finds herself asking, "Why not today?"

"It's at the school. Susie already broke in, so now they're paying extra attention after hours."

If this is just an elaborate prank on Kris' part, it's a cruel one, even for them.


	2. Chapter 2

Can of potted meat, check. Several envelopes of hot chocolate powder, check. Boxed macaroni? Check. Noelle carefully deposits these items into the now full backpack. There's a few assorted toiletries and other more practical, boring necessities already stuffed down to the bottom, so Noelle decides it can't hurt to bring some creature comforts with her. She had considered packing chalk, but she can't risk insulting Susie, so she leaves it out. The backpack is heavy enough as it is.

Satisfied with her selection of goods, Noelle gently sets the backpack down in front of her dresser before crawling into bed and shutting off the light.

She's had plenty of time to think about what to bring since she came down with flu and spent the last several days at home. Every since Kris had offered to take her to where Susie supposedly is, the anticipation has been horrible.

They had sent her a text message with a picture of Susie attached. Her skin color seemed off, and she was wearing a strange, thuggish outfit, but it was definitely Susie. It's probably a trick, an emotionally taxing one that she's spent a good deal of her allowance on, but if it's not a trick…

Her stomach flutters uncomfortably, and it's not from any lingering effects of the flu. What if it's not a trick, but Susie is actually really mean? Or, even worse, what if Susie is nice and still doesn't like her? Well. There's no point in getting worked up over something that might not actually even happen.

There's a tiny nagging voice that insists Kris is lying, that Susie is dead in the woods somewhere, and what is she doing standing around? But it's not like people haven't searched for her. The town and surrounding woods are too small to stay hidden in forever.

Unless something especially sinister happened to her. Naturally, someone started a rumor that her father killed her and scattered the dust somewhere secret, but the police already searched the house. It really is like she vanished out of thin air.

She sighs. Trick or not, she'll find out tomorrow. She resigns herself to another restless night.

Noelle checks the time nervously. In another three minutes, Kris is supposed to slip out of class - with the excuse of needing the restroom - and meet her in the hallway.

She's never skipped class before, and it's honestly a little nerve wracking. It's not an exactly out of the way place, and if she's spotted, there's a good chance she'll be grounded. If Kris doesn't show, she'll vow to never talk to them again.

Luckily Kris does indeed show up, exactly on time. Good. The backpack is a lot heavier than she's used to.

"Are you ready?" Kris having bangs now makes their face that much harder to read, but they seem genuine.

Her heart is pounding faster again, and she feels foolish. "Ready as I can be, I think. Did you tell Susie I was coming with you?"

Kris starts down the hallway towards the old classroom, and she follows, tightening her hands around the straps of her backpack, bracing for the inevitable 'gotcha' from Kris.

"I told her I was going to try to bring you sometime." Kris sounds bored.

"W-what did she say?" It feels like they've been walking for a while. She doesn't remember it taking this long to get to the other side.

"Said you'd probably think it was a trick."

"I'm still not entirely-"

A sudden falling sensation sends her reeling, and she lets out a scream. Just as she's about to ask Kris why they pushed her, everything goes black.

Groggy, Noelle opens her eyes again. There's a dull ache in her back that wasn't there before. Oh. She fell and landed on her back. Maybe she shouldn't have packed canned food.

She squints. Her vision is still blurry, but she can make out a blue, person shaped blur standing above her. The rest of the surrounding room is a dull, slate grey. What is she doing in a basement?

"I don't know how you managed to twist around so much that you landed on your back," the blur informs her in a familiar monotone.

Suddenly, everything snaps into place - skipping class to meet with Kris, the room suddenly going dark, the horrible falling sensation - and Noelle scrambles to her hooves. Her back protests with a sharp ache, but that isn't important right now.

"Kris? W-where is this?" Her eyes are finally starting to focus, and she is definitely not in a basement. They were at the school just a moment ago, right? Wait. "And why are you…" She trails off. Did she hit her head? Is she seeing things? Kris is not blue. Humans don't come in blue.

"Blue? Don't know." They don't seem bothered by being blue. "But you changed colors, too. Everyone does." Kris starts marching forward before she can react.

"H-hey, don't leave me alone here!" She nearly trips chasing after Kris.

Holding up her hands, she finds that she has indeed changed color. Instead of the usual tawny brown, her hands and wrists are now a shade of dark mahogany. Noelle frowns as she pulls her hair, now a mousey brown, out of her way. She rolls up the white sleeves of her robe - what? She had certainly not been wearing robes before.

"Kris, why-"

"Don't know. Everybody that comes here gets different clothes and colors. Also you probably have a weapon."

"I don't have weapons!"

"Well, you do now."

"I do not!" Protesting again, she pats herself down, checking her robes for any kind of pocket or weapon holster, and finds with slight horror that she is carrying a weapon: a sinister looking mace. Where did it even come from? It was almost as if it has just materialized directly into her hand.

"Did you find it?"

"What is this place, Kris?" Did Susie really choose to run away and come to live here, in a place where weapons just casually materialize into your hands? She wills the mace away, and to her surprise, it dissipates easily.

"Dark world," Kris states, completely nonplussed. "We're almost to Castle Town."

"Castle Town? Is that what it sounds like?"

"Yeah. That's where Susie went to live."

"Kris, I swear, if this is just an elaborate prank, I'm telling on you." Gripping the backpack straps tight, Noelle forces herself to press on.

Kris doesn't respond, so they keep walking, forcing Noelle to follow. Her back still hurts, but it's the farthest thing from her mind right now.

Eventually, they reach what must be Castle Town. True to its name, it does appear to be a town with a castle. Kris doesn't break their brisk stride, and it's a struggle for Noelle to keep up and take in her surroundings at the same time.

Kris leads her straight to the castle. Up close, it appears to be slightly neglected. Not terribly so, but it's evident that it hasn't seen much use for a while. It doesn't feel right to just barge in, but Kris opens the heavy wooden door without speaking and steps inside, so Noelle follows.

The inside of the castle maintains the same melancholy, slightly neglected air, though judging from the brooms and other cleaning supplies gathered in the room, it appears someone is trying to solve the issue.

A light, feminine voice that Noelle doesn't recognize floats into her ears from another room. "Kris? You're back sooner than I thought you would be!"

The owner of the voice, a white goat, steps in from another room. He claps his paws together cheerfully. "Oh, Kris! You brought a friend!"

"H-hello," Noelle manages. She briefly wonders if this goat might change colors in the her world.

The goat introduces himself as Ralsei, invites her and Kris to sit at a plain wooden table, and promptly disappeares to retrieve Susie all in the blink of an eye.

Noelle is still struggling to get her bearings as Ralsei re-enters the dining area with a groggy looking Susie in tow.

Ralsei busies himself preparing tea in the kitchen area, and Susie drops herself gracelessly into the chair across from Noelle.

"Kris told me you might be visiting."

Noelle can feel her face heating up, so she ducks her head down towards the table. "I-I-I just wanted to make sure you were alright! Y-you disappeared without s-saying anything or t-telling anyone!"

Crap. She hadn't planned on Kris telling the truth for once.

I hate how this site doesn't really support author's notes like ao3 does? But anyway I wanted to address that this site hecks up my formatting and it's such a pain in the ass to fix it, so I don't. Anyway. There'll be another fic to conclude this very unepic saga, but I don't know when I'll be able to start or finish it. Real life (TM) beat me up pretty hard recently...


End file.
